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Zerilli government
The Zerilli government was the ministry of Prime Minister of Italy Giacomo Zerilli, which lasted from August 2022 to April 2023. Zerilli was backed by his Democratic Revolutionary Party of Italy, the Five Star Movement, and the Italian Left, but he alienated his leftist allies with his support of some fiscally and politically centrist policies, and, while his party remained the largest in the Chamber after the 2023 election, the other parties united against him and ensured that former Prime Minister Nicola Urbini of M5S was re-elected in a landslide, forming the Third Urbini government. History Formation While the Democratic Revolutionary Party of Italy lost a seat in the 2022 elections, it entered into a three-way tie with the Five Star Movement and the Democratic Party of Italy for the most number of seats in the Chamber of Deputies. This was bad news for incumbent Prime Minister Nicola Urbini of M5S, as he was not one of the two candidates who would be vying for the premiership; instead, PRD leader Giacomo Zerilli and PD leader Stefano Petroni contested the title. Rather than see the right's occasional ally Petroni win the premiership, Urbini bravely set aside his personal dislike for the PRD (which had run attack ads against him) and had his party vote for the PRD. The PD, Lega Nord, and Forza Italia generally voted against the PRD and for the PD, but Forza Italia deputy Luigi Vizzioni voted for the PRD. Ultimately, Zerilli won the contest with 20 votes to Petroni's 18. Legislation Zerilli's government spearheaded the efforts to keep the school bus tax, which remained in place after a vote of 26-13; the economic downturn of the country necessitated taxes. The government also attempted to pass a land tax, and it succeeded with support from the Italian Left and M5S, as well as from Vizzioni. The law passed by a margin of 21-17 with 1 abstention. Roberto Orvieti, the man who had overseen the government's reforms, went on to spearhead efforts to remove the party funding law, and, with the backing of Lega Nord, Forza Italia, and the Democratic Party, the PRD abolished party funding after a vote of 26-12 with 1 abstention. The government was defeated in its attempt to keep the vote by a margin of 20-16 with 3 abstentions, as well as in its support for the legalization of prostitution, an effort which was defeated in a vote of 18-14 with 7 abstentions. However, it was successful in its effort to maintain the 3% electoral threshold in a vote of 29-6 with 4 abstentions, and it supported a robbery penalty, which was implemented after a vote of 35-1 with 2 abstentions. The government, with support from Forza Italia and most of the Democratic Party and Italian Left, also succeeded in pushing for increased investment in high schools over theatres after a vote of 22-18. As 2023 set in, the PRD again became the most-funded party in the country, and it bribed the Forza Italia maverick and government supporter Luigi Vizzioni to join its ranks. In late January, M5S deputy Alice Andreotti was caught in a corruption scandal, and a terrorist attack occurred that same week, lowering the national mood. The next week, the government sat out a vote on the agricultural subsidies, with the subsidies being kept after a vote of 19-9 with 12 abstentions. Zerilli and his party allied with the right-wing to decline a party funding law, defeating it 23-10 with 5 abstentions. The next week, however, they voted to keep retirement homes by a 34-4 margin with 1 abstention. In April 2023, when the next election was held, the PRD won 9 seats in the Chamber, again becoming the largest single party, with M5S and Lega Nord being tied in second with 7 each, PD and FI next with 6 each, and SI next with 5. The lame duck parliament's last act before the premiership contest was to decline a protest prohibition law by a margin of 30-4 wwith 4 abstentions. The PRD went on to buy several votes from opposition deputies, mostly from Forza Italia, but many of the Forza Italia deputies reneged on their promise; only Paolo Mascherpa supported Zerilli from the right, while only Carlo Hurli supported him from the left; even PRD deputy Paolo Loren supported Nicola Urbini over his own party head. Urbini was therefore able to form the Third Urbini government. Assessment The Zerilli government was formed mostly in response to Prime Minister Nicola Urbini's shortcomings and the poor choice of candidates for the premiership contest; the deputies were forced to choose between the leftist and populist Giacomo Zerilli and the establishment candidate Stefano Petroni. They ultimately chose Zerilli, who had made himself known as an opponent of Urbini's ineffective government, and Zerilli decided to usher in a package of reforms. He switched positions and supported the maintenance of the school bus tax as the budget shrank, implemented a land tax, abolished party funding (in an effort to cut expenditures), supported the 3% electoral threshold, implemented a robbery penalty, and supported investment in high schools. However, many of its proposed ideas were shot down, and the party was secretly involved in corruption such as bribery, vote-buying, and paying for defections. The PRD became a fundraising machine as well as the largest party in the Chamber, but its independent-minded nature alienated its leftist allies - who opposed its pragmatic decisions - and contributed to Urbini's return to power. List of Members Prime Minister * Giacomo Zerilli PRD (8) * Rosa Nuccio * Roberto Orvieti * Rosa Dimaria * Paolo Loren * Nicola Gaetani * Mirella Uberti * Gianna Toreno * Ignazio Lorenzon SI (4) * Michele Iovine * Francesco Noele * Giuseppe Andino * Paolo Nasto M5S (8) * Alice Andreotti * Vittorio Campanella * Gabriele Nocera * Franco Nitti * Giacomo Gianetti * Matteo Zoff * Vittorio Uvari * Carlo Hurli PD (8) * Stefano Petroni * Giuseppe Nardello * Gabriele Veltramo * Mirella Zamperini * Marco Verardi * Stefano Angiulo * Michele Legnani * Vittorio Bonetti Lega (6) * Michele Zefarelli * Antonio Merlotti * Roberto Rizzoni * Nicola Augostini * Giuseppe Imbarelli * Carlo Gerlandi FI (6) * Antonio Hadriano * Antonio Orlandini * Paolo Mascherpa * Luigi Vizzioni * Valeria Scuto * Mario Tassoni Category:Italian governments